THE PARTY

It's an exclusive party, but the invitation I hand you simply says: ADMIT ONE; and has a place for you to fill in your name.  As you look at the invitation, you'd notice it contains no other information.  The first question you would probably ask is: "When is the party?"
 
You'd be relieved to find out the party was several months away and you had plenty of time to fit it into your schedule.  Your next question would probably be: "Where is the party?"  To this I might say, "Chicago."  

As I turned to leave, you'd stop me so you could ask, "Where in Chicago?"  When I answered, "In a building with a sign in front.  Why do you ask?" you may begin to show frustration. 
"Why do I ask?  I want to know how to find it, that’s why!" 
    
My answer would depend on where you were coming from.  If you were a great distance away, I'd tell you to first take a plane.  Then, I'd tell you to drive a car.  As you tried to interrupt, I'd say, "Let me be more helpful…when you drive the car, one pedal is the gas.  That makes the car go.  The other pedal is the brake.  That makes the car stop.  There is also a steering wheel.  That helps you direct the car."  If you haven't given up, you may ask, "What am I supposed to do, drive every street until I find it?  Could you please give me an address?" The reason you want an address is to know exactly where the party is, that is, so you can find it intentionally. 

Another benefit of an address is that it allows you to measure your progress.  Up until you got the address, this process would be totally unacceptable for directions to the party. However, these are the same type of directions we get from people when we ask how to get closer to God.  Think about it, the most important desire of your heart and you settle for directions that you'd consider ridiculous for something less important.

INTENTIONAL PERSPECTIVE

When we ask how to get closer to God, we are told to read the Bible, pray, believe (have faith) and love others.  What parts of the Bible should we read?  Read the whole thing?  How is this any different from me giving you a Chicago phone book and saying, "The address is in here"?  In the same way that we are looking for a specific street; when we read the Bible, what are we supposed to focus on?

How do we build our faith or love more?  People usually point to Hebrews 11 ("Now faith is the substance of things hoped for...") or I Corinthians 13 ("Love is patient, love is kind...") to answer these questions, yet these passages don't tell us how faith or love works or, more importantly, how to intentionally increase these attributes. 

Unfortunately, most people believe that when it comes to religion, we can't be intentional.  They express this by saying, "we can't know these things" or "we aren't supposed to try to understand them; it's a mystery".  Some would even say it is "unnatural" to be able to explain these principles.  Let's deal with the first two responses separately. 

First, we are commanded to make progress in these areas.  In fact, we are held accountable for it.  If we "can't know" how to intentionally make progress, then why are we told to do these things?  More to the point, why are we guilty when we don't grow in these areas?

The weaker of the two responses is that we aren't supposed to try to understand.  This goes against everything we do, from reading the Bible to listening to a sermon.  What is the purpose of teachers if it isn't to try to intentionally help others understand?  What is the purpose of the Bible, if God doesn't want us to try to understand?  More importantly, why do these people want to avoid thinking?

Way to go, now that you understand
the invitation on to....

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